Trump’s nuclear test claims about Pakistan puzzle arms control experts
Pakistan firmly denies the claim, as analysts fear Trump’s unverified accusations could unleash a chain reaction of nuclear testing
Trump’s assertion, aired in a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, was met with disbelief by non-proliferation analysts who said it misrepresented the current state of nuclear weapons testing and risked inflaming regional tensions.
Islamabad has observed a self-declared moratorium on testing for more than two decades, while all the other nations Trump named have denied conducting recent tests.
Experts warn that by conflating non-explosive system trials and sub-critical experiments with full-scale detonations, Trump risks eroding long-standing test bans and destabilising deterrence frameworks at a time of rising geopolitical rivalry.
“The problem is none of the countries he named has openly tested nuclear weapons in years,” said Ludovica Castelli, project manager of the non-proliferation and disarmament programme at the Institute of International Affairs think tank in Rome.
“The only country to have tested a nuke in the 21st century is North Korea, which has observed a self-declared moratorium since 2018,” Castelli told This Week in Asia.